Coca-Cola Blak Walks the Red Carpet

Company to launch coffee cola, rewards program

ATLANTA -- Americans got their first glimpse of Coca-Cola Blak last night, when the soft-drink giant introduced the cola-coffee line extension in a television ad during the pre-show, red-carpet extravaganza before the Academy Awards.

In the ad, a bottle of Blak appears in a spotlight, followed by the flashes of cameras and shouts of the paparazzi, according to a report from Beverage World. The beverage, which was unveiled in France back in December, is scheduled to be introduced this [image-nocss] spring in the United States.

The Atlanta-based company also advertised Tab Energy, an energy drink aimed at women, and Diet Coke during the Oscars broadcast. The company uses major events to launch new products and campaigns because the events provide "a lot of eyeballs to kick start those activities," said Alison Lewis, senior vice president for integrated marketing at Coke's North America unit.

The Diet Coke commercial featured a couple leaving a movie theater on their first date. The man, at first shy, is emboldened after drinking a Diet Coke and runs after the woman, kissing her passionately. The commercial for Tab Energy features a woman getting dressed up and living the glamorous life. The tag line is "fuel to be fabulous."

In other Coca-Cola news, the company launched My Coke Rewards, a multi-year, on-line driven, mega-rewards program across all Coca-Cola brands. The program allows consumers to choose from a pool of experiences and features rewards from some of the world's best brands.

My Coke Rewards is the largest program we have ever launched for the Coca-Cola Trademark, with rewards valued at over $50 million, said Katie Bayne, senior vice president, Coca-Cola Brands, Coca-Cola North America. Regardless of which Coca-Cola brand is their favorite, My Coke Rewards will give everyone who loves Coca-Cola the chance to benefit from their passion for the brand in a unique and special way.

My Coke Rewards launched on 20-ounce packages, with billions more packages to be included later in 2006. To participate in My Coke Rewards, consumers look for unique codes under the caps of specially marked 20-ounce bottles of any Coca-Cola-brand product. By going to
www.mycokeawards.com, consumers then create an account and enter their code. Codes can even be entered via mobile phone, and as consumers collect and enter more codes, their account grows. When they have accumulated enough points to redeem their desired reward, they simply select it and the points are deducted from their account.

My Coke Rewards is unique in its ability to truly personalize the consumer's experience with Coca-Cola, said Bayne. The program allows us to tap into our consumers' passions and tailor their online experience to offer them what they really want. Spanish-speaking consumers will be able to access a complete Spanish-language site simply by logging on to
www.mycokeawards.com and selecting Spanish as their preferred language. This is the first fully bilingual, internet-based initiative for the Coca-Cola brand in the United States.